Top-Notch Surgeon, Pregnant Nurse

‘Beth,’ he whispered.

He was staring at her mouth, and she ached to feel his lips on hers. She swallowed to moisten her parched mouth as she swayed towards him. She mustered her last skerrick of sense. ‘We shouldn’t be doing this,’ she croaked. ‘Things are complicated enough.’

‘Yes, they are,’ Gabe whispered, his gaze not leaving her mouth. She was so close, her mouth so near he could almost taste her, and he wanted her so much his body throbbed.

‘Can you walk away?’ he asked softly. I sure as hell can’t.

Beth shook her head, not sure she could articulate a response. His intense gaze on her mouth was breathtakingly erotic.

‘Neither can I,’ he groaned as he dropped his head and claimed her lips.

Amy Andrews has always loved writing, and still can’t quite believe that she gets to do it for a living. Creating wonderful heroines and gorgeous heroes and telling their stories is an amazing way to pass the day. Sometimes they don’t always act as she’d like them to—but then neither do her kids, so she’s kind of used to it. Amy lives in the very beautiful Samford Valley, with her husband and aforementioned children, along with six brown chooks and two black dogs. She loves to hear from her readers. Drop her a line at www.amyandrews.com.au

Recent titles by the same author:

THE OUTBACK DOCTOR’S SURPRISE BRIDE

FOUND: A FATHER FOR HER CHILD

THE ITALIAN COUNT’S BABY

SINGLE DAD, OUTBACK WIFE

AN UNEXPECTED PROPOSAL

Dear Reader

Welcome to Brisbane General Hospital! Set in my home town of Brisbane, this trilogy explores the lives and loves of three nurses, the Winters sisters—Beth, Rilla and Hailey. And three very special doctors—Gabe, Luca and Callum.

I’ve always wanted to write a linked series, and was thrilled when my editor suggested it. I love catching up with previous characters and being familiar with a particular setting. And Brisbane General is a beauty. Being a nurse, I can tell you there’s no place quite like a hospital to bring out real emotions and make people realise what is truly important in life.

In TOP-NOTCH SURGEON, PREGNANT NURSE, Beth never thinks she’ll see the stranger she impulsively slept with again—until he turns up at work as the new hotshot surgeon. Now they have to work together in the operating theatres of Brisbane General—and despite the intense attraction she’s determined to pretend it never happened. But their secret will soon be out when Beth discovers she’s pregnant!

There’s never a dull moment at Brisbane General. So fasten your seatbelts and enjoy the ride!

Amy Andrews

Don’t miss Rilla’s story in November 2008!

TOP-NOTCH SURGEON, PREGNANT NURSE

BY

AMY ANDREWS

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To my dearest friend, Leah. Who knows.

CHAPTER ONE

BETH ROGERS stared at her office wall, reliving Friday night over again in all its horrifying splendour. She blew on her tea as she absently tucked a stray strand of blonde hair back into her theatre cap.

A pair of vivid green eyes, the exact shade of the peridot in her favourite pair of earrings, had haunted her all weekend. Crinkly caramel hair styled into a trendy just-got-out-of-bed fashion had continually flashed on her inward eye. A well-modulated English accent had replayed relentlessly. The aroma of popcorn, coffee and shortbread lingered even now.

How could she have done that? She’d never had a one-night stand in her life. Never.

At thirty-eight, no doubt there were some out there that would think that terribly boring. But having had her life defined by an even worse error of judgement at fifteen, she’d always shunned the casual sex scene. At least this time round she’d made sure they’d used protection.

‘Here she is.’

‘Where else would she be at seven in the morning, even though as NUM she doesn’t start till eight?’

Beth looked away from the very fascinating wall to find her two sisters lounging in her doorway. She smiled at them, plastering an all-is-well-with-the-world look on her face and banishing those peridot eyes. ‘Good morning to you both, too.’

Rilla and Hailey entered and threw themselves down on the low lounge chairs that sat against the wall opposite the desk.

‘Well, I know why I’m here this early—’ Beth began.

‘Because you’re a workaholic,’ Rilla interjected.

Beth ignored her. ‘But why are you both here so early?’ Like she needed to ask. Rilla and Hailey had been hovering for days. ‘I thought you were on days off, Rilla. And, Hailey—you don’t start till one. Wet the bed?’

The sisters looked at each other. ‘Come on, Beth. We’re just worried about you,’ Hailey said, putting all her best counseling skills into the conversation. ‘We’re family. When you hurt, we hurt.’

‘Yes,’ Rilla agreed. ‘We’ve been fretting all weekend about you.’

Beth looked at her sisters and felt their love and concern. They were so different from her. She was lanky and blonde, like the few photos she’d seen of her mother. They were darker and curvier, like Penny, their mother. But she’d been part of the Winters family for over twenty years and, blood bond or not, she was as close to them as any sisters.

She shook her head and smiled at them. ‘I’m fine guys, really. This is a tough time of year for me. I know you know that better than anyone else and I appreciate your concern.’

The sisters exchanged looks again. Beth’s words were reassuring but they knew how bruised her heart was still, even twenty-three years down the track. Had lived through that tumultuous time all those years ago as well and even though they’d both been quite young, Beth had been unbearably sad and it had left a lasting impression.

‘So did you go and see that movie Friday night?’ Hailey asked.

Friday night. No, she was trying not to think about Friday night. ‘Yep,’ she said, hoping to sound nonchalant.

Rilla looked at, Beth waiting for more information. None was forthcoming. ‘Was it able to distract you like you hoped?’ she prodded.

The movie hadn’t but what had happened afterwards certainly had! It had kept her distracted all weekend. ‘Yep,’ she said again.

Rilla and Hailey exchanged yet another look. ‘I didn’t think an action movie would hold your attention for long, you’re more a foreign-film buff,’ Rilla persisted.

‘Oh, yes, all that blowing up stuff.’ Beth nodded convincingly, ‘very good distraction.’

‘What did you do afterwards? I hope you didn’t go back to your house and brood all night. You know we would have come over.’ Hailey frowned, her concern all too obvious.

Yes, she knew. But she hadn’t been able to bear the thought of it. Her sisters’ efforts to keep her mind off the baby she’d given birth to twenty-three years go would only have served to focus her mind on it more. They’d been there to witness the aftermath of that turbulent time and their presence alone would have been enough to stir the memories.

Beth decided to throw them a crumb to sidetrack them. ‘I actually walked ou t of the cinema into a medical emergency. A woman had collapsed into a diabetic coma and then she started to fit. This…’ Beth paused slightly while she searched for an adequate description. ‘Guy and I, rendered some first aid while we waited for the ambulance.’

‘Guy?’ Rilla and Hailey said in unison, recognising the significance of Beth’s hesitation, sensing a juicy titbit.

Damn it! She shouldn’t have stumbled over how to explain him. She should have known her sisters would jump on that part of the information.

‘What was he like?’ Rilla asked.

‘What’s his name?’ Hailey pressed.

‘What’s he do?’ Rilla added.

‘Spill!’ Hailey demanded.

Hot. He was hot. Amazing green eyes, beautiful mouth and a way with her body that had made her weep in his arms.

‘He seemed nice enough,’ she fobbed them off, hoping her nose wasn’t growing. ‘His name is Gabe. He’s English. He’s a teacher.’ They were looking at her expectantly and she knew how tenacious they could be so she threw them another crumb.

‘We had coffee.’

And he made me laugh. He made me forget. And he was flirting and he had desire in those amazing eyes and something else, something sad, and when he suggested I go back to his hotel room I did because I couldn’t bear to be alone with the memori es, and we had sex. All-night sex. Last-night-alive-on-earth sex. Armageddon sex. Until I slunk out of his room at dawn.

‘Coffee?’ the sisters said in unison again, looking at Beth speculatively.

‘Do you fancy him?’ Rilla asked.

Beth rolled her eyes. ‘He’s…younger than me.’

‘How much younger?’ Hailey demanded.

‘Thirty-three.’ But he hadn’t looked a day over twenty-eight.

‘So?’ Hailey shrugged.

Her sister’s words triggered a Friday-night flashback.

‘Look, I’m flattered but you’re a little young for me,’ she had said and had laughed nervously.

‘So?’ Gabe had said, staring at her with desire and heartbreak in his eyes.

‘Don’t you think you should be playing with girls your own age?’ she’d practically squeaked.

‘No.’

And he’d been so sure of what he’d wanted and yet still kind of vulnerable, her insides had melted and she’d taken his proffered hand and followed him without any further argument.

‘Is he married?’ Hailey’s persistent voice broke into her wandering thoughts.

Beth gave her sister a scandalised look. ‘No.’

‘So?’ Hailey stated again.

Beth looked from one to the other, her head spinning. She was glad her instinct to keep Friday evening’s full story to herself had kicked in. For as long as she could remember her sisters had been trying to set her up with men. It was their payback for years of her mothering them. But the last thing she needed was them constantly questioning her about Gabe.

She didn’t want to be frequently reminded of her completely out-of-character actions. She already had a son out there somewhere to remind her of that. Her one-night-stand-man was best left at the hotel.

‘So nothing. We had a pleasant chat.’ Beth waited for a lightning bolt to strike her. ‘He’s in Australia for seven months. I’m never likely to see him again.’

‘What sort of a teacher is he?’

‘I don’t know. We didn’t really talk about our jobs,’ Beth said wishing she was wearing a theatre mask to hide the heat she felt rising in her face. She’d slept with someone she barely knew. They’d talked about the movies and books and music. And then they hadn’t talked about much at all.

Beth was saved any further interrogation by the arrival of the Brisbane General’s Chief of Staff. She’d never been so happy to see the man who’d been more like a father to her than the man who had actually given her life.

‘Ah, not one daughter but all three,’ John Winters said, beaming at his girls. He didn’t have to ask why they were altogether—he knew why.

‘Hi, Dad.’ Rilla and Hailey rose to hug their father and he gave them a big grateful squeeze each. He winked at Beth over the top of their heads. ‘How are you darling?’ he asked gently.

Oh, God, not you too. ‘I’m good, John. Really, I’m OK.’

John moved into the office and Beth rose to embrace him. He was tall and broad and handsome still, his hair greying nicely at the sides. She lingered in the circle of his arms, thankful every day that John and Penny had taken her in and given her a second chance at life.

‘To what do I owe the pleasure of your hallowed company?’ Beth teased. ‘It’s a bit far down from the executive suites to the bowels of the hospital, isn’t it?’

John chuckled and sat on the corner of her desk. ‘I’m just showing the visiting neurosurgeon around. He’s meeting me here shortly.’

‘Dr Fallon?’ Beth asked.

‘The English guy? The one who’s leading the neuro team to separate the Fisher twins?’ Hailey piped up. ‘What’s he like?’

‘He has an impeccable reputation. He’s only thirty-three but has a very bright future. He’s worked on some real cutting-edge stuff in Oxford and has a very successful private practice. He’s been involved with separating two sets of craniopagal conjoined twins already. The Fishers are lucky to have him. The General is lucky to have him.’

‘That’s not what she meant, Dad,’ Rilla said, laughing at her sister.

John’s eyes twinkled. He’d known exactly what his youngest daughter had meant. ‘Well, he doesn’t do much for me but I guess you young things would call him a hottie. Why, interested?’

‘No way,’ Rilla said vehemently. ‘But Beth, on the other hand…’ she turned to look at her older sister ‘…needs a good man.’

‘Hey!’ Beth protested. ‘If anyone needs a man around this joint, it’s you. It’s about time you started moved on. It’s been seven years since Luca left.’

‘Absolutely,’ Hailey agreed.

‘You can’t talk,’ Rilla said turning to her younger sister to deflect the attention from her. ‘How long has it been for you?’

Hailey laughed. ‘Give me a break. I only got back into the country eight weeks ago.’

‘You’re normally faster than that,’ Rilla pointed out.

Hailey started to protest and then figured it was a little rich to be outraged by her sister’s comment when it was essentially true. She’d had a string of boyfriends. But things had changed in London. ‘I’m mellowing in my old age.’ Hailey shrugged.

They all laughed and Hailey joined them. It was good to be back home among the family again. She’d missed them on the other side of the world and their familiarity was like a soothing balm to her burnt-out soul.

Dr Gabriel Fallon heard their laughter all the way down the corridor. He looked up at the sign that jutted out from the wall above the door where all the noise appeared to be coming from. It read ‘O.T. Nurse Unit Manager.’ Definitely where John had told him to come. Looked like the Brisbane General was going to be a fun place to work. It would make a nice change from the gloom he’d left behind in England.

He approached the office and knocked quietly on the door. John was sitting on the desk, two women were sitting in the chairs against the wall and another, behind the desk—John’s daughter, he presumed—was obscured from his view by her father.

‘Am I interrupting something?’

Beth felt the laughter die a sudden death on her lips. That voice. That accent! She’d know it anywhere. The same voice that had asked her to his hotel on Friday night. The same voice with the sexy accent that had whispered outrageous things to her all night.

‘Gabriel,’ John said, rising to his feet and ushering the newcomer inside. ‘Pardon us. Clan gathering. Meet my daughters. This is Rilla. She’s the middle child. She works down in Accident and Emergency.’

‘Rilla.’ Gabe nodded extended his hand. ‘A pleasure to meet you.’

Beth watched Rilla blush under Gabe’s gaze and knew exactly how she felt. His accent flowed over her like warm icing on a hot cake. Oh, God, oh, God! What the hell was he doing here? Gabe? Teacher Gabe? Her Gabe was the new hotshot from the UK? No wonder he’d been so good with the diabetic. First-aid course, my fat eye!

‘This is Hailey, the youngest child. She’s just started on the kids’ ward. She’s been away for three years in your neck of the woods.’

‘Oh, whereabouts?’ Gabe asked, shaking her hand.

‘London,’ Hailey confirmed.

Oh, God, it’s me now. Beth wished she could hide under the table as she watched her father and Gabe turn towards her. Time ground to a halt as their actions appeared to unfold in slow motion.

‘And this is the woman in charge around here. She’s also done quite a bit of travelling and even worked in Oxford. This is my oldest daughter—’

Gabe’s eyes widened as recognition dawned. ‘Beth!’ he supplied before John had a chance.

Gabe couldn’t believe what he was seeing. The woman who’d been on his mind all weekend was standing in front of him. Her hair may be obscured by a cap, her lithe body covered in baggy theatre greens, but he’d remember that flawless complexion, those eyes, that mouth anywhere. Hell!

Beth swallowed, trying to moisten her suddenly parched mouth. Nothing had prepared her for the impact of seeing him again. On Friday night he’d worn jeans and a polo shirt. Today he was wearing dark grey trousers, a striped business shirt and an impeccably matching tie. But she knew neither were a match for what lay beneath.

‘Hello, Gabe.’

John frowned. ‘You two know each other?’

Intimately. Gabe had thought about no one else since he’d woken alone in his bed on Saturday morning. He’d slept with the boss’s daughter? A colleague? Oh, good move, Gabriel! He saw a burst of panic flare her pupils and her blue eyes darted nervously to John and then back to him. She didn’t want her family to know. ‘We…met on Friday night.’

Beth could see Hailey and Rilla exchange looks in her peripheral vision as his green eyes captivated her, making it impossible to look away.

‘You’re the guy who helped her with the diabetic?’ Rilla exclaimed.

Among other things. Gabe smiled at Rilla and then turned back to Beth. ‘Yes. We made quite a team.’

John was looking at Beth and she quickly filled him in with an abridged version of events, ignoring the familiar undertone in Gabe’s voice.

‘Well, then. No introduction needed,’ John said.

Gabe saw a slight hint of pink adorn Beth’s high cheekbones. Definitely no introduction needed. He wondered if John Winters would have been so welcoming had he known just how well acquainted he was with Beth.

‘It’ll be a pleasure working with you,’ Gabe said.

Beth nodded, unable to speak, trying not to focus on the word ‘pleasure’. Was it just her hyperactive imagination or had he emphasised it slightly? Her body was still tingling in places from the pleasures they had shared.

No! This couldn’t be happening. If she’d known she was going to have to work with him, she would never have thrown common sense and a lifetime of caution to the winds and slept with him. The one thing, the only thing, she’d managed to comfort herself with over the weekend had been she’d never have to see him again.

‘Well, we’d better be getting on,’ John said. ‘I believe Dr Fallon has an afternoon list, Beth?’

Beth looked at John and nodded. She forced herself to concentrate on only him, ignoring both Gabe’s and her sister’s speculative. ‘Starts at one.’ She leafed through some papers on her desk and handed one to Gabe.

‘Thanks,’ he said softly as he took the theatre list. He watched her intently as she avoided his gaze. ‘I guess I’ll see you after lunch.’

Beth gave him a quick smile, which she hoped appeared friendly, and made a show of straightening the papers on her desk. Rilla and Hailey were shrewd. Too shrewd. If she ignored him, started acting weirdly, they’d be onto her. She could tell they were already bursting to get her alone.

John gestured for Gabe to exit first. ‘See you later, girls.’ John smiled at his daughters as they left the office.

Beth sat, her shaky legs dubiously supportive. She adjusted a few things on her desk and then risked a look at her sisters. They were looking at her with grins on their faces.

‘What?’

‘You didn’t mention that Gabe was so gorgeous,’ Rilla stated.

‘Very sexy,’ Hailey concurred. ‘Slip your mind?’

‘He’s OK, I guess.’ she shrugged.

‘You guess?’ Hailey laughed. ‘That man is so damn cute I thought about slipping into a diabetic coma just to grab his attention.’

Beth grinned at the image and then sobered. ‘Well that man is now apparently a colleague so the rest of it doesn’t matter.’

‘Thought you said he was a teacher?’ Hailey said.

Beth shrugged. ‘That’s what he told me.’

A great start to their working relationship. Not only had they slept together but he’d lied to her. Had the flirting and flattery been lies too? To get her into bed? He had confessed to her, as they’d eaten from room service at three in the morning, that he’d never done anything so spontaneous before. Had that been another lie?

She had suppressed the impulse to question him further at the time knowing that a few hours in bed with a stranger did not permit her access to the intimate details of his life, and now wished she hadn’t. She’d known what had driven her to act so outrageously—what had been his excuse?

Beth groaned inwardly. What did his reasons matter? The more important question was how she was going to work with him. The next six months stretched before her interminably and she wished they were over already.

‘Well.’ Rilla grinned and winked at Hailey. ‘Looks like Gabe’s going to be around for a while. You never know what could happen in that time.’

Beth looked from one to the other. Their brown eyes sparkled mischievously at her. ‘No.’

Rilla and Hailey’s grins widened.

‘No,’ Beth repeated, more emphatically this time.

‘Oh, come on, Beth,’ Hailey cajoled. ‘I think he fancies you.’

Beth tried not to remember just how much he’d fancied her on Friday night. ‘I’m not interested.’

‘Liar, liar pants on fire,’ Rilla teased.

‘I do not date colleagues.’

‘Oh, Beth,’ Rilla chided. ‘You do not date, full stop.’ She made a chicken noise and flapped her arms a couple of times. Hailey giggled.

Beth fixed her sister with a glare. ‘Rilla, you of all people should know how disastrous relationships at work can be.’

Rilla’s smile died and Hailey’s laughter cut off abruptly. Her sisters looked at her as if she’d slapped them, and Beth knew she’d stepped over the line. Damn Gabe Fallon! She’d done nothing but mother and dote on them since she’d entered their lives twenty-three years ago. Rilla ha been seven at the time and Hailey five.

‘I’m sorry, Ril,’ she said immediately, getting up from behind the desk and crouching beside her sister’s chair. ‘I spoke without thinking.’

Rilla blinked and smiled weakly. ‘It’s OK, Beth. I know you didn’t mean it that way. Just because it didn’t work out for me, it doesn’t mean they’re necessarily a bad thing. You have to stop punishing yourself. It’s been twenty-three years…’

It was both incredible and daunting to have two other human beings who knew everything about you and loved you anyway. Who knew what kind of ice cream you liked or what you wished for when a falling star crossed your path or how you’d cried yourself to sleep for a year. Despite their physical differences, despite their different surnames, Hailey and Rilla were her family. She didn’t know what she’d do without them.

Beth looked into Rilla’s earnest brown eyes. She took her sister’s hand and gave it a squeeze. She reached for Hailey’s and did the same.